Palace: Inflation rise still OK

Malacañang on Thursday said it was not worried about the 3.2-percent rise in inflation in May, saying this was still within the range estimated by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said there was no cause for alarm over the uptick in inflation, and that it does not indicate a reversal in the inflation slowdown.

“The 3.2-percent inflation rate in May per our economic managers is attributed to a slight increase in [the price of] some agricultural food products as well as housing and utility bills,” he said in a statement.

The Philippine Statistics Authority previously announced the rise in inflation rate from April’s 3 percent.

May’s figure was the first time that inflation rose after six months of slowdown, though it is still lower than May 2018’s  4.6-percent inflation rate.

Panelo said high spending during the campaign period for the May elections and the spike in global fuel prices were beyond their control.